ES: I love that your work brings science material that all too often exists without context into the realm of both the personal and political. What drew and continues to draw you to science?

JJ: Excellent ideas and wonderful stories draw me to science! Most non-scientists don’t realize that science is full of fresh thinking and compelling stories, but I find, as an artist, that science is a playground of possibilities.

That’s not where I started, though. In college, I studied the humanities, especially cultural theory. Derived from the post-modern philosophical movement, cultural theory focuses on deconstructing personal and social ideas about the self and others. These ideas helped me make sense of my identity as a woman and a lesbian, and my life. It helped me get free of my strict religious upbringing. These ideas are tremendously useful. But they also have their limitations.

One summer, as I was about to dive into Foucault (a dense French post-modern philosopher) a friend commented to me, “Post-modernism, great. They’ve deconstructed everything, but where are we going??” The question hit home. All that theorizing, but where was the compelling vision for a new world? Deconstruction gives us a vital and necessary view of the world. It teaches us how society uses its very structures and institutions to oppress various groups. It also teaches us how we create our own identities. But it doesn’t necessarily have a compelling vision for the future in it. Yes, we need to take society apart to understand it, and to liberate ourselves from oppressions… but… then what?

I wanted to make art that would make a difference in the world. For that, a constructive, not deconstructive, vision is necessary.

If you know where to look, science holds part of that vision. And the core scientific philosophy - that truth is attained through gathering evidence - is a much-needed corrective to a world that continues to both discriminate against people based on who they are, and also to ignore the urgent evidence for climate change.

ES: The world needs both the humanities and the sciences. And they need each other. JJ: Not unexpectedly, as a lesbian, I have experienced discrimination, including from my family. It’s always a slightly bizarre experience to be treated poorly based on who/what you are. You know what the truth is about who you are; the incurious and the afraid choose to make up their own truths, and are all too often impervious to new information. It is very frustrating to deal with people who have chosen their own truths, and will not admit new information or look at evidence. Such ignorance, stubbornness and fear can have devastating consequences. But it can also have the opposite: it can drive a search for a search for meaning based on democratic and humanistic values, and truth based on evidence.

These experiences have had 2 major impacts in my life: one, I am a passionate ally for other people who are targeted for oppression, giving me my love for the humanities. Second, I seek truth based on proof and evidence, not on fear and/or prejudice. This led me to science.

So the summer that my friend questioned my reading list (Foucault), I finally put aside the humanities-only approach. Instead, I started reading Brian Swimme, a cosmologist. Swimme wrote and teaches the Universe Story, also known as Big History. It looks at human history as starting with the scientific history of the universe. Humanity’s creation story starts with the development of the universe! This story is based on the scientific evidence that we have so far, too - which makes it even more compelling. I was immediately enraptured. As a theatre professional, I’m all about stories, and here was the greatest story of all! It starts with a bang - a BIG bang! It is full of near misses and lucky breaks. It includes the long and very creative development of life on earth - a development that so far seems to be quite unique in this universe.

Further, this story, when taken to its conclusion, contains a vision for the future.

The vision is first about understanding our place on this planet. The Universe Story stipulates that we are part of the universe, part of this planet. I don’t believe we will stop climate change and ecocide until we understand that in doing so, we are saving ourselves. We are intimately connected to other life forms. We are a part of this planet. Once we acknowledge that wholeness, change, hopefully, will be inevitable.

My engagement with the Universe Story led me to create a science comedy. In The Physics of Love, a solo show, the main character is looking for love. She uses the scientific history of the universe as a source of knowledge and wisdom for her journey. It’s The Big Bang Theory meets Cosmos: a comedy about a nerd who loves cosmology.

Science continues to be a playground of ideas for me. As a search for truth based on experimentation and evidence, it is a source of both grounding and inspiration. Cosmologists and environmental scientists, particularly, provide a vision of the universe and our world that is, ultimately, very humanistic. The circle is complete.

ES: Performing comedy using science is a unique niche! What were/are some of your inspirations?

JJ: I love Jon Stewart/The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert. They use the events of the world – real knowledge - to inform and entertain. You get smarter listening to comics like them! They demonstrate that humor and storytelling can get point across so much more effectively than just haranguing people.

While I am committed to truth and justice, as an artist, my first priority is to the artistic process and integrity of whatever I’m creating. My collaborators and I love to play on the field of ideas that science provides. They are funny, inspiring, and intellectually challenging. But first and foremost, we are creating stories, sketches, dance pieces - whatever we are doing, it is the art first. The intent is to create artistic experiences that happen to play in the field of scientific ideas.

ES: Any other sciart projects you're currently working on?

JJ: I am the artistic director of The SciArt6, a multicultural performance troupe that focuses on environmental issues. Our entertaining shows include sketch comedy on the politics around climate change, puppet shows on food justice, rap songs on NYC’s current environmental footprint and environmental racism in the South Bronx, a voicestra on extinction, and more.

We are artists. We strive to entertain and inspire, not lecture and harangue. Our goal is to make great performances around environmental themes that entertain audiences… and then inspire them to action.

Jennifer Joy creates and performs in New York City. Listen to the first episode of her upcoming podcast series, "Evolution is Entertaining" here. To learn more about Jennifer's work and to contact Jennifer visit her website www.jenniferjoyonline.com.

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SciArt Center of New York is based in and around New York City, New York.Logo design by Justin Mendonca